Lackey looks forward to starting over

The biggest change for John Lackey is his health, as he essentially has a new elbow. He pitched through pain in 2010 and 2011, clearly limiting his effectiveness.

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By
TIM BRITTON
Posted Feb. 14, 2013 @ 7:16 pm

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Prepared to leave for the day, John Lackey opened the door of the Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park to a driving rainstorm. A team employee offered to grab him an umbrella for the four-minute walk to his car, but Lackey turned over his shoulder and declined.

“I’ll live,” he said with a smile. “I’m not made of sugar.”

Indeed, over the last two calendar years, Lackey has endured far worse than your average southwestern Florida rainstorm. Back in the Red Sox rotation following Tommy John surgery, the right-hander is ready for the fresh start that spring naturally offers.

“A lot of guys [think of it as a fresh start] in here,” Lackey said Thursday. “We’ve got a different mix. A new coaching staff, a lot of new things in here. I feel like it’s one of my first years in the big leagues again.”

The biggest change for Lackey is his health, as he essentially has a new elbow. He pitched through pain in 2010 and 2011, clearly limiting his effectiveness. In 2010, his ERA jumped half a run to 4.40. In 2011, it hopped up two full runs to 6.41 — marking the worst season ever by a Red Sox starting pitcher.

Lackey is sure that was an aberration, brought on by his blown-out elbow.

“It’s just nice for it not to hurt to be honest with you. I definitely feel like [the surgery] took a few years off,” Lackey said. “It had been a little while [since I felt healthy]. I don’t know exactly, but probably a couple years.”

Lackey’s dogged competitiveness, which has endeared him to so many of his teammates over the years, proved detrimental to his health. Even he admitted that now.

“That’s one of the things that might have gotten me in trouble a bit that last year, trying to go out and do some stuff I maybe shouldn’t have,” he said.

That won’t change who he is, however. More than 15 months removed from surgery, Lackey expects to be able to pitch without limitations in 2013. Although he hasn’t thrown any breaking balls off a mound yet this spring, he did during a two-inning stint in the instructional league last fall. He doesn’t see that as a concern. He also views 200 innings as a reasonable goal.

Lackey used the time away from the game to reshape his body. He looks, from afar, almost like a different person, his profile trending closer to, say, Daniel Bard’s than his old self.

Asked about Lackey’s former “lumpiness” on Wednesday, manager John Farrell quickly quipped, “He’s smoothed out the lumps.”

“I worked pretty hard. I wanted to be ready when I got to camp,” Lackey said. “It was just a matter of putting in a lot of work. I rehabbed my arm last year, and I wanted to give myself the best chance I can to perform well.”

“We’re going to need him, I know that,” Farrell said Thursday. “It’s almost a fresh start for him physically. … He’s in a good place right now.”